Building Community through the ‘Moody’ Zine

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Moody is a zine publication started by Melissa Mursch-Rodriguez that showcases work from queer and BIPOC creatives. Visual art, poetry, short stories and notes about artistic processes all qualify as content Moody considers, and each contributor is paid. Started in late 2020 during quarantine, the zine features six new creatives with each issue. Originally a monthly zine, beginning this year it is bimonthly and features eight creatives instead of six.

Mursch-Rodriguez shares why starting such a platform was important to her.

“I was doing a lot of curating pre-COVID, and after going to college for fine art practice I realized that I got more fulfillment from platforming others and building community. Then COVID happened and obviously it got harder because we couldn’t meet safely in person for shows, so I founded Moody because I love zines in general but it was also a safe way to curate something. It’s also nice because there’s so much room for it to grow and become something else eventually. For the name I was trying to think of something intellectual but I was just on Spotify browsing and I saw a song called “Moody” and I liked that. It kind of encompasses what the zine is about.”

The first issue came out Jan. 1, 2021 and featured Bailey Danz, Marcelina Gonzales, Sea Jay, Sindie Kim, Cecilia Palacios, and Avery Weiler.

“It was a lot different than how the rest of the issues would be because I printed it all myself. I borrowed my friend’s printer and came to find out that the somewhat cheap printer was not perfectly centered so I had to format every page to be on the right and I had to print every front and back page four times. So, the first one did not have as good of quality (laughs) but I’ve had it reprinted since and it’s a lot more vibrant. I also didn’t take submissions for that one; I reached out personally to people that I adored, and it was very special.”

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Based on submissions she gets, Mursch-Rodriguez tries to diversify each issue with different locations, mediums, and identities. She hires other creatives to help her with things like sticker design and logos as well. Organizations and businesses that have worked with Moody include Riverwest Femfest, Woodland Pattern Book Center, Cactus Club, and Lion’s Tooth (who stocked a coloring book edition of Moody for kids).

Fast forward to the present, Moody released their 13th issue on February 1.

“It’s different for sure; I’ve reformatted things and have a different contributor doing the cover for every month now. I’ve been very happy and humbled by people telling me that they love the designs of Moody but I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing (laughs) so I decided to have someone else do them. This year I have horoscopes from Other Dust run by Kayle Karbowski, and I think that fits Moody’s vibe really well. The cover artist for this new issue is really special to me because they’re a student I recruited to MIAD.”

Mursch-Rodriguez shares her biggest takeaways from running Moody.

“Two things come to mind. One is that things don’t have to be perfect and people don’t notice when things aren’t perfect. I’m such a perfectionist that I get hung up on things, and when I mess something up people tell me ‘we would’ve never noticed’ or “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.” So I’m learning to be easy on myself and let things happen how they happen. The other thing kind of goes in hand with that, and it’s that there will always be a fan of something. If I’m not happy with something or someone’s submission is different from what I thought it would be, it doesn’t really matter because that artist is going to have a fan.”

Moody will be doing half-issues on off months from regular issues where they will partner with another organization for a special edition; the first of which is in collaboration with Braided Magazine to be issued next month. They soon plan to release an anthology of every issue so far put into one book. Finally, Moody will be at Milwaukee Zine Fest on April 30.

For more information about Moody, visit their website here.